﻿THE 
  JUNGLES 
  OF 
  PANAMA 
  

  

  135 
  

  

  man 
  came 
  ages 
  ago 
  — 
  alone 
  among 
  

   millions 
  of 
  living, 
  silent 
  creatures. 
  

   It 
  is 
  one 
  thing 
  to 
  be 
  alone 
  in 
  the 
  

   desert 
  or 
  at 
  sea 
  and 
  quite 
  another 
  

   to 
  be 
  alone 
  in 
  the 
  jungle, 
  buried 
  

   in 
  the 
  very 
  bosom 
  of 
  that 
  great 
  

   something 
  out 
  of 
  which 
  all 
  life 
  

   has 
  come. 
  

  

  The 
  world 
  of 
  human 
  beings 
  

   ceased 
  to 
  be 
  what 
  it 
  had 
  been 
  to 
  

   me 
  and 
  became 
  merely 
  a 
  fringe 
  

   of 
  the 
  great 
  life 
  of 
  the 
  world. 
  

   Things 
  are 
  happening 
  here 
  in 
  

   this 
  great 
  silent 
  reservoir 
  of 
  life, 
  

   and 
  these 
  are 
  just 
  as 
  important 
  

   as 
  those 
  which 
  take 
  place 
  on 
  city 
  

   streets. 
  

  

  Looking 
  up, 
  we 
  saw 
  the 
  feath- 
  

   ery 
  leaves 
  and 
  flowers 
  of 
  the 
  tall, 
  

   gray-trunked 
  trees 
  or 
  the 
  droop- 
  

   ing 
  leaflets 
  of 
  tall, 
  slender 
  palms, 
  

   or 
  creepers 
  of 
  every 
  imaginable 
  

   form. 
  

  

  Looking 
  down, 
  there 
  were 
  seed- 
  

   lings 
  everywhere 
  — 
  palm 
  seed- 
  

   lings, 
  hundreds 
  of 
  them, 
  coming 
  

   up 
  from 
  where 
  a 
  bunch 
  of 
  the 
  

   palm 
  fruit 
  fell 
  and 
  rotted. 
  Ferns 
  

   of 
  beautiful 
  strange 
  forms 
  and 
  

   selaginellas 
  cover 
  the 
  fallen 
  trunks 
  

   and 
  palm 
  stems. 
  

  

  We 
  could 
  not 
  tread 
  a 
  single 
  

   step 
  off 
  the 
  trail 
  without 
  stepping 
  

   on 
  some 
  tender 
  little 
  seedling 
  

   which 
  was 
  as 
  confidently 
  raising 
  

   its 
  head 
  in 
  the 
  deep 
  shade 
  and 
  

   constant 
  moisture 
  of 
  the 
  forest 
  

   floor 
  as 
  if 
  it 
  were 
  on 
  a 
  green- 
  

   house 
  bench. 
  

  

  death 
  and 
  destruction 
  stalk 
  

   in 
  the 
  jungee 
  

  

  You 
  may 
  imagine 
  that 
  the 
  

   plants 
  in 
  a 
  jungle 
  are 
  healthy. 
  

   Far 
  from 
  it 
  ! 
  A 
  look 
  around 
  will 
  

   soon 
  show 
  that 
  there 
  is 
  hardly 
  a 
  

   leaf 
  in 
  sight 
  which 
  has 
  not 
  some 
  

   insect-made 
  hole 
  through 
  it. 
  I 
  

   stood 
  still 
  just 
  off 
  the 
  trail 
  and 
  

   picked 
  all 
  the 
  leaves 
  within 
  my 
  

   reach, 
  until 
  I 
  had 
  a 
  handful. 
  

   Some 
  were 
  so 
  riddled 
  with 
  holes 
  

   that 
  they 
  looked 
  like 
  lacework 
  ; 
  

   others 
  so 
  tunneled 
  by 
  leaf 
  miners 
  

   that 
  they 
  looked 
  like 
  gray-green 
  

   puffed-up 
  bags. 
  Some 
  were 
  

   spotted 
  with 
  fungus 
  leaf 
  spots 
  ; 
  

  

  Photograph 
  by 
  H. 
  G. 
  Cornthwaite 
  

  

  THE 
  STRANGLER 
  ElCUS 
  AND 
  ITS 
  VICTIM 
  : 
  PANAMA 
  

  

  From 
  a 
  tiny 
  seed 
  dropped 
  by 
  some 
  bird 
  in 
  the 
  branches 
  

   of 
  this 
  giant 
  forest 
  tree, 
  there 
  grew 
  a 
  little 
  "rubber" 
  

   plant, 
  which 
  dropped 
  in 
  time 
  a 
  thread-like 
  rootlet 
  to 
  the 
  

   ground. 
  This 
  rootlet 
  grew 
  and 
  thickened 
  to 
  a 
  trunk 
  

   and 
  sent 
  out 
  other 
  rootlets 
  by 
  the 
  dozens, 
  until 
  they 
  

   quite 
  inclosed 
  the 
  forest 
  tree 
  itself, 
  and 
  some 
  day 
  they 
  

   will 
  choke 
  it. 
  

  

  